JAKARTA, thekabarnews.com—Indonesia’s poverty rate fell to 8.07 percent in March 2026. The number of people living below the national poverty line declined by approximately 430,000 in six months, Statistics Indonesia (BPS) reported on Wednesday, August 5.

The latest BPS poverty profile showed that 22.93 million people were classified as poor in March, equivalent to 8.07 percent of Indonesia’s population. That was down from 23.36 million people (8.25%) in September 2025.

Compared with March 2025, the number of poor people decreased by about 920,000. The poverty rate fell by 0.40 percentage points.

BPS Deputy for National Accounts and Statistical Analysis Edy Mahmud said the decline extended a trend. This trend began three years earlier.

“The downward trend in poverty has continued since March 2023, although the pace has not been as fast as in 2024,” Edy said during the BPS briefing.

The figures were calculated using the National Socioeconomic Survey (Susenas). BPS classifies people as poor when their average monthly spending falls below the poverty line required to meet basic food and non-food needs.

Poverty declined in both urban and rural Indonesia, but progress was substantially stronger in cities.

BPS reported that Indonesia’s urban poverty rate fell from 6.60% in September 2025 to 6.34% in March 2026. The urban poor population declined by about 350,000, from 11.18 million to 10.83 million.

In rural areas, the poverty rate edged down from 10.72 percent to 10.67 percent. The rural poor population declined by approximately 80,000 to 12.10 million.

The figures mean rural poverty remained more than four percentage points above the urban rate. This highlights persistent disparities in income opportunities, public services and access to formal employment.

BPS raised the national poverty line to Rp669,235 per person per month in March 2026. Food accounted for Rp499,886 (74.70%), while housing, education, healthcare, clothing and other non-food needs contributed the remaining Rp169,349.

Geographically, Java, the country’s most populous island, remained home to more than half of Indonesia’s poor population. Kalimantan recorded the smallest number of people living in poverty among Indonesia’s major island groups.

There was a cautionary tale about the fall in poverty, too. Indonesia’s Gini ratio rose from 0.363 in September 2025 to 0.368 in March 2026. This indicates that expenditure inequality rose somewhat even while fewer individuals lived below the poverty level.

Indonesia’s most recent poverty rate also remained over the government’s 2026 goal range of 6.5-7.5 percent. This highlights the need for improved rural job development, food-price stability and well-targeted social security.